Guest contributor Christy Bibby, intern of Christa Joy Ministries.
This is one of the biggest questions I have grappled with in life and hence, I have some things to pass on to you!!!
Firstly, learning how to practice scriptures like Proverbs 3:5-6 is essential. That is, trusting God no matter what happens to me. Why? Because we simply cannot comprehend a large portion of His thinking, foresight, moves and planning (after all - knowing we’re kind of “ant-sized” compared to God in terms of intelligence and strategic capability can feel confronting, humbling and scary all at once!).
When I finally “got” how to do this - really, totally trust that God would NEVER let something happen to me that He cannot a) redeem and then b) work with it to ensure my ultimate safety and welfare (no matter how painful or scary it can feel while I’m in it) - I had incredible peace and security that I’d never felt before in my life. This took years of working to mend my relationship with God - but that’s a whole other story.
However - if you find that first part of my answer unsatisfying, or if it maybe even feels like not an answer or solution at all! - you are not alone.
After all, WHY do bad things continue to happen to us when the Bible is full of promises of God’s protection!? It just does not seem to match up with what we know of God’s perfect and loving character.
If you’re like me - perhaps you’ve experienced more than your “fair share” of adversity and pain - then you may need more assurances and understanding to help you get through this life with your faith in God intact.
There are many analogies which illustrate the following point beautifully, but here is just one of them:
There was a boy, about 3 years old, who had a terrible earache. All the medicines so far from the doctor had failed to solve the problem. It’s discovered at the next doctor’s visit that not only was the ear infected, but he in fact has some sort of insect in it. By this time the boy was becoming very frightened. His father and the doctor assure him that the best thing is to get the creature out, and the doctor says he’s confident that if the little boy can stay still for five minutes, he will have the problem solved for good. After all, they are many days away from a hospital, by which time the situation could become much more dire.
Well, before long the boy began to writhe and wail - it felt like the doctor was trying to hurt him!! The five minutes started to feel like an eternity for the father also, as he had no choice but to hold his child still in an almost vice-like, yet loving grip. He tried to reassure his boy that they would never do anything to harm him, that everything happening now was because they were helping him, and not wanting to hurt him at all… there was no better way to ultimately help him and keep him safe.
When the boy, not understanding or feeling safe at all, finally sobbed “Daddy, why are you doing this to me Daddy??? Why are you letting him hurt me!!?????…” the father’s heart broke, having to see his child go through such pain - and worse - the boy not having the knowledge and reassurance in that moment of just how much his father loved him. If only his son could trust, just believe that what he told him was true despite how much his ear hurt, despite how much he felt the doctor was harming him and that he was not safe; then his boy would not have to experience all of the emotional pain and trauma on top of the physical pain in his ear. The father felt so helpless - yet - he didn’t move or relent until the doctor said that the invading creature was completely out of the boy’s ear.
You see, the father loved his boy far too much to simply take away his temporary pain and anguish, only to risk something far more painful and even dangerous happening to him.
Friend - there really is an explanation for everything that we go through.
The great news is that if you will put your life back into Creator God’s hands (and remember - we have all made our own choice to keep the right to our own will like Adam and Eve - and not to give it over to God), He can then make sure that ONLY His Good and Perfect Will happens to us, even in the midst of great pain, and maybe never knowing why.
And THAT really is a safe place to be.
Are you ready to dive in to a 21-Day journey of faith? Download our FREE 21-Day Bible Plan on God's Protection here! In this immersive self-paced experience, each day unfolds with carefully curated verses from the Scriptures that highlight the profound depths of God's all-encompassing love. Each passage speaks directly to the Lord’s promises of safeguarding His children.
During this 21-day journey, make sure to immerse yourself understanding God’s Protection by enjoying the specially selected worship songs for each day. These songs guide you to worship and reflection. Simply click on the links in the PDF below to listen to each song!
Join us today and embark on this empowering journey with the Lord. Please let us know what part of the plan you enjoyed the most in the comments below.
Christy is mostly a stay-at-home Mum, living with her two children and husband in New Zealand. Having become a Christian at 4 years old - she’s spent the ensuing 42 years learning exactly what that means and how to really do it. Who really is the one true God and what is He like? Can we trust the Bible? These and many similar questions have driven her to keep looking until she finds deep and satisfying answers. She hopes that sharing some of these will make a difference in other people’s lives!
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